Skift Take
While Vegas heavyweights like Wynn and MGM made headlines for entering the UAE, the reality of the country’s gaming industry could be a lot more local, favoring companies already in the country.
Analysts in Las Vegas were working this weekend after the UAE regulators published its gaming regulations on Sunday.
The first take we’re hearing: Industry investors are generally optimistic, but the UAE’s casino industry may be more local than expected.
The license for the first lottery went to an Abu Dhabi-based company. And the rules for issuing gaming licenses require that operators have a “qualifying domestic entity”, or QDE, in the UAE or have a relationship with one. This QDE must have a “substantial” financial and operational history in the country.
A local focus would be good for companies like Kerzner with its Atlantis brand, and Emaar. However, Wynn and MGM already have local partners as well.
Both Emaar and Atlantis are owner-operators. That’s an advantage over other operators who may want a casino but their owners do not.
Emaar and Atlantis did not respond to a request for comment.
What About U.S. Casino Brands?
While the licenses themselves may go out to local businesses, an industry analyst in Las Vegas told Skift it is likely local developers will call upon U.S. operators like Wynn to run the physical gaming floors.
Wynn Resorts is part-owner of the upcoming RAK project, with Marjan and RAK Hospitality Holding also on board.
A Wynn spokesperson told Skift, “We are reviewing the public information on the [General Commercial Gaming Regulatory Authority] website and will of course adhere to the instructions and directives it contains.”
Other potential candidates for a casino include MGM, which has a long-delayed project in Dubai. The MGM in Dubai was first unveiled in 2017 by the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed, and does have a QDE of its own.
Wasl is the partner for the MGM in Dubai, a major hotel owner and developer in the city with close ties to the government. Wasl’s hospitality head is Guido de Wilde, the former regional COO for Marriott in the Middle East.
MGM declined Skift’s request for comment.
CBRE director of equity research John Decree told Skift: “I look at Wynn and the partnership with them in Marjan and RAK as a good template: It keeps majority ownership with a local entity. It all supports the view that the majority of business will be for domestic companies.”
“The award of the lottery license to a local entity wasn’t surprising though, our thought is that there is a good possibility that lottery license winners might partner with a well-known global lottery company in some capacity.”
“I say that because GCGRA wants to be a benchmark regulator and the composition of their board, they want some global, sophisticated experience to get the industry running. Wynn is the global entity in Marjan. To be truly a benchmark gaming industry, we want to see global partnerships.”
“Atlantis would probably be in a position for their own gaming experience, but the other [local operators], it would perhaps be more viable to partner with a well-known operator for the gaming aspect.”
Atlantis and UAE Casinos
Atlantis has been rumored to allow gaming in Dubai for as long as the two resorts have been around. The original Atlantis in the Bahamas does have a casino, but once the Dubai government bought a major stake in Kerzner, that property was sold off.
In May 2023, now-former Atlantis president Tim Kelly told this reporter that Atlantis would be ready for casinos “if Dubai wants it.”
At the time, Kelly said: “We’re patient. Our focus is on optimizing our resorts, but if gaming comes our way, we’ll be ready for it when it does. It would make sense but we need to understand the direction Dubai and the local authorities want to take.”
Market Potential
According to analysts at CBRE, casinos in the UAE could one day generate as much as $8.5 billion in revenue. That assumes Wynn is one of a handful of casinos to open across the UAE.
CBRE’s Decree said in a report: “We believe the UAE represents one of the most compelling opportunities in global gaming given its robust existing tourism industry, high propensity for luxury and consumer spending, business-friendly operating environment, strong existing transportation and lodging infrastructure, and virtually no gaming competition in the region.”
CBRE thinks it will be one casino license per emirate.
GCGRA Board of Directors
We now know who is on the board of directors of the GCGRA. It’s full of Nevada experts, but also the former CEO of Emaar Developments and board member of Kerzner, the operating company of the Atlantis brand: Chris O’Donnell.
Along with chairman and ex-MGM boss Jim Murren at the top, the board includes former Nevada Gaming Control Board Chairman Mark Lipparelli; former president and COO of Infinity World Development Corporation Williams Grounds who managed major projects such as City Center Holdings; and Vice Chairman O’Donnell, who served as CEO of Emaar Developments and also on various boards with significant gaming investments, including Dubai World, CityCenter Holdings, and Kerzner.
